Bad omen

The village of Bronn was located on near a border of two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Egra and the Kingdom of Egria.

The two kingdoms used to be united. However, a hundred years ago, there was a succession crisis where the first and second princes battled over their father's throne. The civil war lasted almost a decade without having a clear winner. The whole nation was too exhausted to go on, and there were some external factors as well such as a rumor that one of their neighboring kingdoms might launch an invasion.

In the end, a truce was declared, and the kingdom was split into two.

Eastern half would continue to call itself the kingdom of Egra, the original name because it was led by the first prince who had more legitimacy to the throne. Western half named themselves Egria, led by the second prince.

All these meant that, politically, the two kingdoms did not enjoy a good relationship. However, for ordinary folks, it didn't really matter. The folks of Egra didn't hate the folks and Egria, vice versa. After all, they used to belong to the same kingdom. Their culture was the same, and so was their language.

Therefore, in spite of the long war and its subsequent truce, for ordinary folks, it had been business as usual. The people of Egra would conduct their business with the people of Egria without any prejudice, and vice versa.

A hundred years passed since.

The kingdom of Egra had regressed significantly due to a string of poor rulers whereas the kingdom of Egria had prospered due to having strong rulers. The current king of Egria, Karsten Egra was crowned just two years ago, but he had proven to be a genius military tactician who had repelled an invasion from a neighboring kingdom. Having the momentum as well as having his extraterritorial threat taken care of, his eyes quickly locked onto the ailing kingdom of Egra. Reunification was near.

The village of Bronn had population of just two hundred fifty people. It was located on a hill of a mountain and was primarily a hunting community since their land wasn't optimal for farming. Being one of the border communities, it did have a small trading outpost which also served as a market for the village.

Regardless, it was an insignificant village.

When gossips floated around that the kingdom of Egria was going to declare war on them, the people of Bronn didn't pay too much attention because it was their brief that, regardless of war, their life would continue as normal. Their villages wouldn't probably be raided. In fact, they would simply surrender to whatever army might approach.

The reason was simple. They had no walls. A single watchtower was all they had. They wouldn't be able to put up any meaningful resistance. In addition, Egria was more or less one of their own. They had no reason to resist really. It ultimately did not matter to them who their king was. As long as they paid their taxes, they'd be left alone.

Alas, their feelings had a swift turn when rumors flew to them that a border city was burnt to ground.

"A massacre," An elder spoke with a shaking voice. "Women and children weren't spared."

"But why?!" A young man retorted. "Did they do something that deserved that?!"

The border city in question did put up a resistance and endured a seven-day siege before falling. But that certainly didn't warrant the city being levelled especially when they shared the same culture and language.

The elder looked around the room where it was dimly lit with few candles. He had gathered who he considered important in the village at night.

"Is the report even real?" Another man spoke with doubts in his eyes. "It's just hard to believe...."

The elder stroke his long, grey, beard. "John," He gently called out. "You tell them."

The man, John, cleared his throat. He was a man in his thirties and was donning a leather armor.

"I saw it with my own eyes," He declared. "Barely any structure was standing. Charred corpses were everywhere. I could not approach closer in fear." He glanced around the room where he saw men in shock. Then he threw a bomb. "And the army is heading here. At least, they were heading this way. I think they will be here in three days"

"What?" A confused utter sounded.

The village had nothing of significance.

"Why are they coming here? What do we have?" Another man uttered.

"Are you sure, John?" Another asked.

"They are coming here," The elder declared. "So, what do we do?"

There was a short moment of silence before an answer came.

"We surrender of course. I mean, what can we do anyway?"

True, a village of two hundred fifty people, what can they possibly do indeed.

"They wouldn't kill us. They have no reason," Another man said, and others seemed to agree.

"They have no reason to harm us," The elder agreed. "That is what we think. But we don't know what they are thinking. Given the situation, it is maybe not a bad idea to have a contingency plan."

It was a roundabout way of telling them to flee if have to. The meeting was soon dismissed, and the people left.

Words quickly spread within the village. Some families were already heading out despite being midnight.

"We should leave? You serious?" Tom blurted. He had just been informed by a man from the meeting.

"Yeah, the elder apparently sent John as a scout. The city was razed to the ground. The army is apparently heading this way. He indirectly told us to flee."

Tom folded his arms, looking troubled. He was a 29 year-old hunter. He was married and had two young children.

"Leave, like right now?"

"The army is expected to reach here in three days. We have time. You don't have to make a decision right now."

Tom glanced at a family that was departing in rush and furrowed his eyebrows. Leaving was easier to be said than done. The village of Bronn was days away from any other settlements. The closest settlement was the border town, Lyatan, that was apparently razed to the ground. The next closest settlement would be the town of Vedo which was like seven days away by walk. Distance wasn't the only issue. Safety was also a concern. Leading a woman and two children through wilderness was begging for monsters to attack. Leaving specially at night would impose extra risk which was why he frowned upon seeing a family flee at this hour.

"Alright, thanks. I will discuss with my wife," Tom said as he turned around.

"Are you serious?" Tom's wife, Fionara, raised her voice upon hearing what her husband had to say.

"Yeah, Fio. The elder has told us to flee if possible."

"To where? Lyatan is done for. So, Vedo? Isn't that a week away? On foot even? We have two toddlers."

Tom was silent. Indeed, it sounded ridiculous especially when told by another. He was a hunter, basically an archer. He could take on a boar with a dagger, but that was about it. He was, by no means, a warrior.

"Why don't we stay? Bronn is just a humble village. They wouldn't raze it to the ground."

"Yeah, I agree," Tom said, nodding. "What spooked the others is that Lyatan was razed."

"It's a big city," She quickly corrected herself. "Err, it was. I am sure there were reasons."

She made sense, he thought.

"Why are they coming here though?" He wondered aloud. "This place is really insignificant."

"Does it matter? We will be surrendering, no?"

"Yeah, we will. I mean, why should we even resist? The kingdom of Egria is one of our own."

In the end, Tom and Fionara decided to stay put. He couldn't shake away this ominous feeling however.